


Trust Fall

by Seren_y_Gogledd



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Grief, If only New Vegas had romances, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Please be gentle with me, Redemption, Slow Burn, Trust Issues, maybe smut later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-10-14 03:30:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10527924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seren_y_Gogledd/pseuds/Seren_y_Gogledd
Summary: Courier Maya Lembrick journeys through the Mojave Wasteland for answers and vengeance. She meets Boone, a sniper with a heartbreaking past. Together they work through their problems, learning to trust again - and love again.





	1. Chapter 1

At the Mojave Express, they had a motto. Not one they'd share with customers, though; negativity made people much less likely to part with their caps. That motto was:

  
_The simplest jobs will always screw you over in the end_.

  
And this job was definitely a simple one. All Maya had to do was deliver one tiny package to an address on the New Vegas Strip, for a fee that would let her take some time off, maybe even spend some on casino chips before she got back.

  
Yeah, that turned out well.

  
She only stopped at Goodsprings to grab a quick beer and a few hours' sleep. Next thing she knew she was surrounded by Khans and forced to dig her own grave while an asshole in a flashy suit monologued at her. Something about luck and rigged games, not that she was listening. Her attention was mostly on her imminent (and hopefully quick; some of these gangs liked to torture their victims first) death.

 

* * *

  
They say your wholelife flashes before your eyes, but Maya only got bits and pieces:

  * _The smell of the farm burning as the raiders forced her to leave her home once and for all._
  * _Distant mushroom clouds, maybe Fat Man shells going off?_
  * _Her boss's angry voice: "Lembrick, after that shit in the Divide you're lucky you even have a job here!"_
  * _The taste of the Brahmin steak she'd eaten just a few hours earlier. She'd have savoured it a little more if she'd known it was her last meal._
  * _A kind-sounding man talking to her about a gunshot wound she had. Funny, she didn't seem to recall that happening..._



* * *

 

As the man continued to talk, Maya became aware that this was not some forgotten event from her past, but in fact her current situation. Maya had survived being shot in the head and this old man was the doctor who saved her. Doc Mitchell, he called himself. As she opened her eyes, he held up a mirror so she could see the results of his handiwork.

  
Given the state of Wasteland medicine, it could have been a lot worse. A patch of her brown hair had been shaved off so Mitchell could get the bullet out but that would grow back and cover the scar. Her arms and legs felt a little weaker than they once were. That was probably from being unconscious for a while. The doc said she'd been out for just over a week.

  
Mentally, well that was a different story altogether; those flashes she'd had as she lost consciousness were about all she had. She could remember her old home, her job and the bare bones of the delivery she was supposed to make. She figured she should head for the Strip even if she didn't have the package anymore. The recipient deserved an explanation at the very least. They might even know who would want it enough to kill her.

  
She would stay in Goodsprings for now, though, doing some odd jobs around town until she could afford to replace the gear her attackers stole. She wanted to repay the Doc for his kindness, too; he'd given her a vault suit to replace her damaged clothing, as well as a Pip-Boy 3000 she could use to keep track of where she'd been and what she was supposed to be doing. "Anterograde amnesia is no joke," he told her. "You don't seem to have it, but I don't want you wandering off into the wasteland and forgetting what you're doing. This gadget here will track your health needs, too, so you'll know if you need to pop a RadAway or stock up on stimpaks."

  
"Yeah, about that," she said. "Do you have any supplies I can take, just in case? I'm going to pay for them." She added quickly.

  
"Pay? I won't hear of any such thing. Take these stims on the house, so to speak. It's a one time deal, though. If you come back to me after getting all busted up, you'll pay the going rate like everyone else. Teach you to go messing up my handiwork. Oh, and go see Sunny Smiles in the saloon. I know you've probably fired a gun before, given all the travelling you do, but you might want to get some target practice in while you're not surrounded by giant critters. She can help with that."

* * *

 

Sunny Smiles was every bit as happy as her name suggested, and did in fact manage to teach Maya a thing or two about shooting a varmint rifle. Despite her farming and hunting past, Maya had always preferred pistols and melee weapons when it came to defending herself. By evening, she'd got the hang of shooting two-handed, and even took out a few geckos with her new gun before cooking up a couple of steaks for her and Sunny.

  
"That was some good shooting, and even better eating," said Sunny once dinner was over. "You know Trudy who owns the saloon? She can always use someone with your skills."

  
"A sheriff or a chef?" quipped Maya.

  
"Nothing so long term, don't worry. We've just been having some trouble with the Powder Gangers lately. Breaking in, looting, that kind of thing. If we had a few more people willing to fight, we could drive them off for good. Simple, right?"

  
_Great_ , thought Maya. _A simple job._


	2. Ghost Town Gunfight

Shooting people, that was the easy part. Sure, it took some getting used to, but it was a choice between pulling the trigger and dying. Convincing other people that joining the fight wasn't a suicide mission?  
Maya knew how ridiculous it sounded: "A ruthless gang of escaped convicts are coming here with explosives and I want you to fight back with varmint rifles to protect one guy you barely know." Put like that, who would want any part in it?

 

Well, maybe that machine of Doc Mitchell's was right about her charisma, because somehow she'd convinced the people of Goodsprings to do exactly that.

 

* * *

 

Maya had walked into the Prospector Saloon that evening to find Trudy being threatened by a man wearing armour over what looked like a police uniform. She ducked around the corner, hoping not to be noticed or caught in whatever crossfire was about to happen. She'd never been all that sneaky, though. The man - Joe, Trudy had called him - heard her footsteps and rounded on her angrily.

  
"What do you want?" he snarled.

  
"I, er, just came in to get a beer. Long day hunting geckos, you know?" Maya was silently willing Trudy to take the man out while he was distracted. "Is there a problem, sir?"

  
He gestured toward Trudy. "These morons think the fugitive they're harbouring is worth risking their whole shitty town over. If they don't change their minds soon, my men are going to burn the place to the ground." With his threat still ringing in their ears, he stormed out.

  
"Dammit Trudy, I had his full attention for a moment there. You could have taken him out!"

  
Trudy looked shocked at the idea. "You might be the violent type, but some of us only get into fights as a last resort. And even then, I'm not going to pick a fight I can't win."

  
"So you'll harbour a fugitive, but--"

  
"Fugitive?" Trudy scoffed. "Did you think that guy was some kind of sheriff? We're protecting a trader from Powder Gangers!"

  
"Sunny had mentioned them. She said it was just a few break-ins, not the whole town at risk!"

  
"Yeah, you're not the first traveller she's tried to recruit. I know she means well, but..." Trudy sighed. "Look, if you feel like helping - and I wouldn't hold it against you if you said no - go talk to Ringo at the old gas station. He's the trader I was talking about. He can explain what you'd be up against."

 

* * *

 

 

Maya spent a good hour in the gas station with Ringo. They played a few hands of Caravan, then she brought up the possibility of chasing off the Powder Gangers once and for all. Ringo would be glad to see the back of them, he said, but he didn't fancy her chances without the rest of the town helping.

  
Sunny didn't need convincing. Not only was she willing to fight, she told Maya who would be the best people to ask for help.

  
First on the list was Doc Mitchell. He was more than willing to provide some supplies if it meant not having to patch up so many bullet wounds.

  
Chet, who ran the store, was next. He was okay with handing over some leather armour so his customers would live to spend more caps at his place.

  
Easy Pete, the old coot who apparently knew a thing or two about dynamite? He said he'd think about it.

  
Finally, she showed Trudy an article in La Fantoma about using the element of surprise and getting the drop on one's opponents. Trudy read it thoroughly, then agreed to lead the town's militia against the Powder Gangers. It was no longer unwinnable, she said.

 

* * *

 

She was just about to give Ringo the good news when Sunny burst through the door, panting. "They're here. Gotta be at least six of them, plus Joe Cobb. We need to move - now." She was just about to leave when she remembered the package she was was holding. "Easy Pete came through with the dynamite. Careful where you use it, okay?" Sunny ran down the hill, followed by a loudly barking Cheyenne.

  
Maya took out her pistol and headed towards Joe Cobb. She'd leave the sneak attacks to the militia, and by drawing the Powder Gangers' fire she was making sure Trudy and the others still had the element of surprise.

  
She heard an explosion and felt something hit her in the back of the head. _Dammit_ , she thought, _one of the fuckers got the drop on ME._ She whipped round, gun drawn, ready to defend herself, only to discover that her 'assailant' was a bloody severed arm. Pete was as good with his dynamite as he'd claimed; he'd killed at least one of the invaders already.

  
Joe Cobb had managed to get away from Maya while she was distracted by Pete's handiwork. He made his way to the saloon, looking to take his revenge on any of the people who'd killed his men. The one he found was Sunny Smiles. He drew his gun, aimed - and was suddenly knocked to the ground by a snarling Cheyenne. The Med-X he'd taken before the fight was doing nothing for the pain of the dog's teeth tearing at his throat, and his last thought was of gratitude to Sunny as she aimed her rifle at his head, ending his pain and his life.

 

* * *

 

 In the Prospector Saloon, much later than they would normally stay open, the people of Goodsprings were celebrating. Thanks to Chet's armour, and Doc Mitchell's medicine, every one of them had survived with nothing worse than a few scratches.

  
Easy Pete stood and raised a glass. "I think we done taught those Powder Gangers a lesson they won't soon forget, thanks to Sunny and Trudy, and the new gal over here of course." He gestured to Maya, urging her to stand too.

  
"Thank you, all of you, for helping," she said. "But really, you did it yourselves. All you got from me was a kick up the ass. Now, I'm going to spend tonight here but I really have to get to New Vegas, so I'll be leaving in the morning."

  
"Well, as thanks for that boot in the ass," Trudy smiled, "let me give you some advice. New Vegas isn't that far from here, but you should go the long way round. Otherwise you'll find yourself facing critters that just get angry if you shoot 'em. Best to go south through Primm and follow the road east after that."

  
"You might have just saved my life, Trudy." With that, Maya downed her drink and headed to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's taking a while to get to Novac, so I might throw in a Boone POV chapter at some point. Because I know you're here for that sexy sniper :-)


	3. My Kind of Town

"Hey, save some for me!"

  
The woman speaking was a redhead, about Maya's age, in a cowboy hat. She sounded like she'd had quite a few shots of whiskey already yet worried the outpost was going to have a shortage of the stuff if Maya had any.

  
"Hey Barkeep, you know what? Make it a vodka instead," Maya didn't feel like pissing the woman off and honestly didn't care what she drank right now. She just needed some downtime.

  
The redhead, apparently satisfied that Maya wasn't a threat to her whiskey habit, gestured at an empty seat next to her at the bar. Maya waited for her drink, then accepted the woman's silent invitation.

  
"I know a shitty day when I see one," the woman said. "What was it, thieves? Chem fiends? Some dickhead rip you off?"

  
"Powder Gangers," Maya replied. "Worse, everyone I meet seems to think it's my job to wipe the bastards out. I'm a courier, not an exterminator."

  
"Courier, huh? I run a caravan myself - well, I did. Damn raiders burned it to ash. Name's Rose of Sharon Cassidy. Don't fuckin' ask. Just call me Cass."

  
"Cass it is then. I'm Maya. Another drink?"

  
They had a few more after that, talked shit about anyone who wasn't within earshot and somehow were not kicked out of the bar. The people running the outpost must have liked caps more than quiet. Maya was glad to have made a new friend, but morning soon came and it was time to move on. She had to go back to Primm for starters, to let Lt. Hayes know he'd be getting the troops he wanted. Then there was Deputy Workshy who had information she needed about her assailant. The eyebot, too. Maya had seen it in the Nashes' home the first time she was here and now she'd found the parts to fix it. She could use a floating laser death-bot on her journey.

* * *

  
One repaired death-bot later, Maya was back on her own mission. The now ex-deputy, whose name was actually Beagle, had given her the information at last. The man in the checkered suit had apparently headed through Nipton towards Novac. Maya followed the road south, resisting the urge to pop into the Mojave Outpost for another quick drink(ing binge) with Cass. The trail might run cold if she wasted too much time.

  
She could see the columns of smoke to the east long before she reached the town. Thick, black smoke, clearly more than a simple campfire. There were far fewer people around too; she hadn't even fought many raiders. The bloatflies and geckos couldn't have got them all, could they?

* * *

  
"Oh my god, smell that air! Couldn't you just drink it like booze?!" Maya wasn't sure what the man had been taking, but he sure sounded excited. She certainly didn't agree with him about the air. It reeked of burnt rubber and worse, burning flesh. _I'm not going to argue with this guy, let him have his happiness_ , she thought, though she suspected this "lottery" he spoke of was a figment of his imagination.

  
She pressed on, towards the other side of town, occasionally stopping to retch. The stench was getting worse. There was a huge fire in front of the town hall, on which hundreds of tyres had been thrown along with several corpses. Beyond the fire she could make out the shapes of a few people standing together. One of them looked like he was wearing a dog's head. _Fuck, Legion_. She tried to stay out of sight but the dog-head man saw her and approached.

  
"Nipton was a wicked place," he told her, "debased and corrupt. It served all comers, so long as they paid. It was a town of whores." He went on about Nipton and its whores for some time. There really had been a lottery too: its winner was the only person not killed, maimed or enslaved.

  
Doghead and his men left then, to Maya's surprise. She'd heard a lot about the Legion. Given what they did to their prisoners, particularly their female prisoners, she'd been expecting a fight for her life, but they just asked her to spread the word about Nipton. She'd agreed, too scared to do anything else.

  
It wasn't until after they left that Maya noticed the men strung up on old telephone poles. More lottery losers. She approached one and pulled out her combat knife, hoping to cut the ropes and free him. Once she got him down, though, she saw the state of him. Wounds all over his body, many of them already filled with pus. His skin, deathly pale. His arms and legs, broken before he'd been crucified, probably so he couldn't fight his fate. Freeing this man had been no mercy, she now realised. All he had left in his short future was agony.

  
Maya drew her pistol, pointed it at the man's head, and pulled the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Novac next time!


	4. ...and One for the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we arrive in Novac.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the Courier/Boone dialogue is directly quoted from the game. The title, in case you didn't know (and I'd bet a lot of you DO know) is from the song "One for My Baby (and One for the Road)".

It hadn't been a particularly busy night.

Couple of Legion recruits, a handful of feral ghouls, nothing a First Recon vet like Boone couldn't handle. He'd spent most of the night watching wastelanders and caravaneers come and go. He could practically tell the time by some of them, their routes were so regular.

There was that one pair, though, just before he left: the woman and the robot. They were new. The bot was what first caught his eye. It hovered, unlike a sentry bot or one of House's securitrons, but it wasn't a Mr. Handy either, though it was pretty damn handy (he groaned at his own unintentional pun) in a firefight. Its laser had burned through several stray ghouls that had swarmed the bot and its owner. Not that she'd been a slouch. Her light armour meant she could avoid most of their attacks and she'd fought back with a 10mm pistol, favouring leg shots to slow their pursuit. Boone watched the whole encounter through his scope. It had been the only real entertainment he'd had all shift.

* * *

"C'mon Eddie, I think we found people!"

The dinosaur cast a huge shadow in the morning sun, but what caught Maya's eye was a man walking away from it. NCR military, if his beret and rifle were anything to go by. She guessed he was the makeshift town's night watchman. _Must be good to have someone watching your back at night_ , she thought.

ED-E must have detected some lifesigns inside the dino, because he started beeping frantically and heading towards it. Maya followed until they reached a wooden door in its side. It bore a small sign: DINO BITE GIFT SHOP.

"You found a shop! Good job, Eddie!"

ED-E bleeped smugly.

Maya turned the door's handle tentatively and peeked inside. You could never be sure what you'd find in a gift shop. Some were still running, others were deserted but with some valuable items, but most seemed to be filled with radroaches and feral ghouls. Oftentimes you'd be glad to find ammo just to replace what you'd spent exploring the place. She couldn't hear anything scuttering around in this particular shop though, so she opened the door wider and stepped through, to be greeted by:

"Howdy there, newcomer! Welcome to the Dino Dee-Lite motel and gift shop. What can I do for you?" A man, mid-forties Maya guessed, and not trying to kill her. It must be her lucky day.

"Hi, I'm looking for information actually. This is Novac, right?" Once the man nodded, Maya continued. "I was told a man passed through here recently, guy in a checkered suit--"

He interrupted her. "If you need to know about someone's comings and goings, you'd be best off asking one of our snipers. They see everything through those scopes of theirs." He gestured to a door. "Manny's up there right now, he's the most likely to know - or to tell you, at least."

* * *

The first thing Maya noticed upon entering the sniper spot was that she was standing in a dinosaur's mouth. She suppressed the giggle that gave her, because the second thing she noticed was its other occupant. She really didn't want an armed NCR sniper to think she was laughing at him.

"Excuse me, are you Manny?" She asked, as politely as she could. "The man downstairs told me to speak to you."

"Yes, I'm Manny Vargas. I guard the town during the day." He looked her up and down, taking in her weapons and armour. "Hmm, you look like someone who can handle herself in a fight. Tell you what, do this one job for me and whatever Cliff thinks I can give you, it's yours. How about it?"

"Depends on the job. I might just ask the night shift guy for help instead."

"You mean Boone? Good luck with that." Manny laughed derisively. "He doesn't talk to anyone unless he has to. Not even me, and we used to be friends."

"I'm not going to crack open that can of worms. Just tell me what I need to kill." She really hoped it wasn't more feral ghouls. She'd been ambushed by them on the way here.

Of _course_ it was feral ghouls. A bunch of them coming from a rocket science facility nearby. She told Manny she'd think about it. _But not before seeing what this Boone guy knows_ , she thought.

* * *

She slept for the rest of the day in a motel room she'd rented. Not exactly the Ultra-Luxe, but it beat barricading the door to some shed and trying to get a couple hours on the floor.

After a quick shower and dinner, she headed back to Dinky. Manny had said there was no point in talking to Boone but she wanted to be sure. They might just have fallen out. Hell, Manny could be bluffing about helping her just so she'd do his dirty work.

Boone didn't even acknowledge Maya as she closed the door behind her, he was so focused on whatever he saw through his scope. She cleared her throat in an attempt to get his attention.

"What do you want?" asked Boone, still not looking at her. "There's nothing up here but me and my rifle."

"Sorry to bother you. I was just looking around." Maya wasn't sure why she was so nervous about asking this man for the information she needed. "I didn't know this was a no-go area. I'm not from around here, so--"

He turned to face her at last. "No, you're not, are you? Maybe you shouldn't go. Not just yet. I need someone I can trust. You're a stranger. That's a start."

"You only trust strangers?"

"I said it was a start." Boone sighed. "This town... nobody looks me straight in the eye anymore." _Hard to look you in the eye if you wear shades at night_ , Maya thought but didn't say. He continued. "I want you to find something out for me. I don't know if there's anything to find, but I need someone to try."

"Go on..." She'd come here to get out of doing other people's work for them, but found herself wanting to hear what he had to say.

"My wife was taken from our home by Legion slavers one night while I was on watch. They knew when to come and what route to take, and they only took Carla. Someone set it up. I don't know who."

"You want me to rescue your wife?"

"My wife is dead," Boone said bitterly. "I want the son of a bitch that sold her."

"Sold her? That's awful. Of course I'll help." By this point, Maya had stopped caring if he would be able to help with her mission. Someone in this seemingly peaceful town had sold a woman to the Legion and her grieving husband was out for revenge.

"Bring them out in front of the dinosaur at night. Here, take my beret," he took it off and handed it to her, revealing his shaved head. "It'll be our signal. Put it on and stand near them so I know you've brought me the right person." 

* * *

It didn't take much digging. On a tip from No-Bark Noonan, resident crackpot, Maya took a peek in the safe in the motel's reception area. She found a note, read it and almost vomited.

Jeannie May Crawford, owner of the motel, had sold Carla to the Legion for a thousand caps. Such a small price for a human life. Worse, Carla had been pregnant and Jeannie May had known this, claiming an extra five hundred caps for the unborn child.

Maya wanted to kick down Jeannie May's door and beat her to death. How _dare_ she sell a woman and child, like they were just _things_? Boone needed his revenge, though, so Maya swallowed her rage and knocked politely.

"Sorry to bother you, but it's an emergency. You need to see this."

Jeannie May followed Maya out to the dinosaur. Maya didn't give her time to wonder why she was wearing a First Recon beret.

Jeannie May never saw it coming. 

* * *

Back in Dinky's mouth, Boone really hoped this stranger hadn't just screwed him into killing Jeannie May for no reason. He was expecting her to bring Manny into his sights. There'd been something off about the guy since Carla first went missing. Almost like he was glad she'd gone. They hadn't spoken much since then. Come to think of it, Boone hadn't spoken much to anyone since then, until he poured his heart out to this woman he'd only seen once before, fighting off feral ghouls on her way into town. He hadn't even asked her name.

The door opened behind him. She'd come back to return his beret. He was glad of that, at least; he felt naked without it. The beret wasn't all she gave him. There was a note too, more like a receipt really. It was the proof he needed, proof that he'd killed the right person. Jeannie May really had sold Carla and the baby to the Legion.

"I thought I'd feel better, knowing the truth at last," he told the stranger. "But I just feel empty. Without a purpose."

"Would you like to come with me? I have a mission of my own, and I could use a guy with your skills watching my back. Plus I've seen what the Legion do to people, so we'll probably be killing a lot of them."

That settled it. "Ready when you are."

"I'm Maya, by the way. So, want to go deal with the ghouls coming out of REPCONN?"

**Author's Note:**

> It's a slow start, I know, but please stick with it! (Edit note: Notice a spelling mistake and fixed it.)


End file.
